Sawayer fills new post as mental health deputy

By DOUG McDONOUGH dmcdonough@hearstnp.com

Published 7:30 am, Friday, March 4, 2016

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Sawayer fills new post as mental health deputy

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Mental health providers in Plainview and Hale County along with the local law enforcement community have a powerful new tool when dealing handling those experiencing psychotic episodes and similar crisis situations.

Thanks to a two-year $183,692 state grant, augmented by $57,534 from Hale County as a local funding match, the Central Plains Center now has its own certified mental health peace officer.

Paul Sawayer, a veteran officer with 22 years of law enforcement experience, started working in the post in late January. Already a Hale County deputy sheriff, Sawayer remains an official member of the sheriff’s department. But instead of patrolling the county as an outside deputy, Sawayer now works out of an office in Central Plains Center’s Haven Center, 715 Houston, and he spends his days interacting with mental health consumers, transporting some to state hospitals and treatment facilities throughout the state.

“This actually is a pilot program,” Sawayer explains. “This pattern for a mental health peace officer has been applied successfully in many urban areas in Texas, but this is the first time it has been tried in rural West Texas with such large distances between fairly remote treatment facilities. And I see it as another method of providing vitally needed services to our clients.”

Although the Central Plains Center has a nine-county catchment area, Sawayer said his duties, at least for now, will be largely restricted to Hale County. That’s because other counties within the Central Plains Center’s catchment area have not signed interlocal agreements with Hale County to share Sawayer’s services and contribute to funding his office. While Sawayer works out of the Central Plains Center, he is commissioned through the sheriff’s office.

“We need a memorandum of understanding and help with matching funds to expand this program into the other counties,” Sawayer said. And he sees a day where there might even be two or three more officers handling mental health cases within the nine-county catchment area. “But it’s important to get it started in Hale County first, since we have the largest population and obviously the most referrals.”

Sawayer “hit the ground running” after starting his new job Jan. 25. Within the first few weeks, he transported three individuals to distant treatment facilities as well as being involved in three interventions.

“I feel like I’m already having an impact, and I don’t even have my own caseload yet.”

But that probably will change once he settles into the job.

“I probably will work into getting a caseload, particularly with those individuals who need more intensive supervision,” Sawayer explains. “We have some good candidates who would benefit from more home visits so we can more closely monitor them. This way we might be able to stop or prevent some problems before they turn into crisis situations.”

Sawayer is eminently qualified for the post. He holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and history, a master’s degree in counseling psychology and has done postgraduate work in counseling psychology and licensed professional counselor supervision. He has 40 hours of training as a mental health peace officer, 12 years of experience as a trained criminal investigator, 10 years of experience with the Texas Parole Division, worked for six years at the Worchester State Hospital as a mental health technician and psychologist, is a former corrections officer, taught psychology and counseling at Wayland and had his own private counseling practice. He holds a Master Peace Officer License and is a Licensed Professional Counselor.

A recent letter to the editor to the Herald about an individual who experienced several psychotic episodes illustrates some of the issues Sawayer will be facing as a mental health peace officer.

“Many people fail to realize that just because someone has mental health issues, they still have legal rights,” Sawayer explains. “Even if they are mentally ill, you can’t deprive them of their liberty until there has been a formal assessment by a crisis worker, peace officer or medical professional. We intervene when they become a danger to themselves or to others, and for them to remain at liberty would be a public safety or personal safety issue.” Once law enforcement officers intervene, they have to work quickly to either secure an emergency detention order or magistrate’s warrant. Otherwise, the troubled individual must be release within a certain number of hours.

“Under some circumstances, family members or friends can seek guardianships and petition for competency hearings, but the general public needs to realize that there are numerous laws protecting the rights of health care consumers. We have guidelines that spell out how we can interact with those consumers in various situations.”

Some of the older forms of medication used to treat various forms of mental illness have side effects that can become uncomfortable, Sawayer acknowledges. Because of that, some individuals will stop taking their medication and instead attempt to self-medicate with street drugs and alcohol.

“Central Plains Center has a 24-hour crisis line,” Sawayer said, which friends, family members, the general public and clients themselves may call. Normally law enforcement officers become involved when those individuals begin exhibiting bizarre behavior.